Radcliffe ready to defend her New York crown

Radcliffe ready to defend her New York crown
By Steven Mills, October 31st 2008

Profiles of Radcliffe's challengers on Sunday

ON the basis of a commanding victory at last week’s Great South Run, where Paula Radcliffe set a British record of 51:11 for the 10-miles distance, the champion of 2004 and 2007 must start as the hot favourite to make it a hat-trick of titles in the Big Apple but here are her principal rivals.

Gete Wami (Ethiopia)
THE runner-up to Radcliffe last year, Wami will certainly be the great threat to the reigning and defending champion. The Ethiopian won the Great North Run but this will be Wami’s fifth marathon in 13 months.

Marathon record – DNF Olympics 2008, 1st Amsterdam 2002, 1st Berlin 2006-7, 2nd LA 2006, 2nd and 3rd London 2007-8, 2nd New York 2007

28 Feb – Zayed Abu Dhabi Half marathon, 3rd, 71:30
13 Apr – Flora London Marathon, 3rd, 2:25:37
17 Aug – Olympic Games Marathon, DNF
5 Oct – Great North Run, 1st, 68:51

Catherine Ndereba (Kenya)
THE 36-year-old won her second Olympic silver medal in Beijing and the two-time world champion is another of Radcliffe’s principle rivals but on the basis of a runner-up finish at the Philadelphia Half-marathon, this could suggest Ndereba isn’t fully recovered from Beijing.

Marathon record – 2nd Olympics 2004 and 2008, 1st World Champs 2003 and 2007, 2nd World Champs 2005, 1st Boston 2000-1, 04-5, 1st Chicago 2000-1, 1st Osaka 2006

6 Apr – Cherry Blossom Washington 10-miles, 4th, 54:52
20 Apr – Scotia Bank Montreal Half-marathon, 1st, 73:11
4 May – Spokane 12km, 2nd, 40:12
10 May – New Jersey 10km, 2nd, 32:44
18 May – Bupa Manchester 10km, 6th, 32:55
15 June – Sapporo Half-marathon, 11th, 72:37
27 June – Kenyan 10000m Championships, 2nd, 33:29.6A
6 July – Asics London 10km, 3rd, 33:33
28 July – New York Half-marathon, 1st, 70:19
17 Aug – Olympic Games Marathon, 2nd, 2:27:06
21 Sep – ING Philadelphia Half-marathon, 2nd, 70:32

Dire Tune (Ethiopia)
THE young Ethiopian has had a busy, but successful year. The 23-year-old has won the Houston and Boston Marathons this year and set a one-hour world record on the track but her run at the Olympics was disappointing.

Marathon record – 15th Olympics 2008, 37th and DNF World Champs 2005 and 2007, 1st Hong Kong 2006, 1st Houston 2007-8, 1st Boston 2008

13 Jan – Chevron Houston Marathon, 1st, 2:24:40
24 Feb – World’s Best San Juan 10km, 4th, 31:46
21 Apr – BAA Boston Marathon, 1st, 2:25:25
12 June – Ostrava Golden Spike one-hour, 18517m
18 Aug – Olympic Games Marathon, 15th, 2:31:16

Kara Goucher (USA)
VERY much an unknown quantity, the American has the ability to give Radcliffe a definite challenge. On her half-marathon debut last year, Goucher defeated Paula at the Great North Run, clocking a sub-67 time, which ranks her very highly on the all-time lists.

1 Feb – Millrose Games New York mile, 1st, 4:36.03
16 Feb – Norwich Union Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix 3000m, 6th, 8:57.53
25 Apr – Oregan Relays Eugene 5000m, 1st, 15:33.25
18 May –Adidas Track Classic, Carson 3000m, 4th, 9:00.53
31 May – Border Duel Portland 10000m, 1st, 31:26.48
8 June – Eugene Prefontaine Classic, 3rd, 14:58.10
21 June – Burnaby 1500m, 1st, 4:06.17
27 June – American Olympic Trials 10000m, 2nd, 31:37.72
30 June – Olympic Trials 5000m (heats), 1st, 15:32.22
4 July – Olympic Trials 5000m (final), 1st, 15:01.02
15 Aug – Olympic Games 10000m, 10th, 30:55.16
19 Aug – Olympic Games 5000m (heats), 7th, 15:00.98
22 Aug – Olympic Games 5000, (final), 9th, 15:49.39
5 Oct – National Championships 10-miles, 1st, 53:16

Lyudmila Petrova (Russia)
AT the age of 40, the Russian is one of the oldest athletes in the elite race but is still in good form, finishing fifth in London and Petrova is another former winner of the race, taking the title in 2000.

Marathon record – 8th Olympics 2004, 1st New York 2000, 3rd, 2nd and 2nd London 2002, 2004 and 2006, 1st Moscow 1998

13 Apr – Flora London Marathon, 5th, 2:26:45

Lyubov Morgunova (Russia)
THE Russian is a consistent performer, having twice finished in the top ten at the World Championships but her lifetime best came in April, after winning the Rotterdam Marathon. Judging by the performances by the Russians in marathons this year, Morgunova could be a dark horse to finish in the top three.

Marathon record – 8th and 10th World Champs 2001 and 2007, 2nd Beijing 1998, 1st Nagoya 1999, 2nd Amsterdam 1999, 3rd Boston 2001, 1st Rotterdam 2008

13 Apr – Fortis Rotterdam Marathon, 1st, 2:25:12
3 May – Moscow Half-marathon, 2nd, 72:43
1 June – Zelenograd Half-marathon, 1st, 75:51

Rita Jeptoo (Kenya)
JEPTOO was unlucky to miss out on selection for the Olympic Games, having finished seventh at the World Championships last year and third in Boston this year. Jeptoo recently won the Cardiff 10km.

Marathon record – 7th World Champs 2005 and 2007, 1st and 3rd Boston 2006 and 2008

28 Feb – Zayed Abu Dhabi Half-marathon, 5th, 72:24
21 Apr – BAA Boston Marathon, 3rd, 2:26:34
27 July – Bupa Cardiff 10km, 1st, 31:36
28 Sep – RTP Lisbon Half-marathon, 1st, 69:48

Kim Smith (New Zealand)
A fine track exponent, the Kiwi is an intriguing debutant, having set Australasian records over the mile, two-miles, 5000m and 10000m this year but rather strangely, the 26-year-old has not raced further than 10km on the roads.

26 Jan – Boston Indoor Games two-miles, 2nd, 9:13.94
8 Feb – Boston mile, 1st, 4:24.14
7 Mar – World Indoor Championships 3000m (heats), 8:52.81
8 Mar – World Indoor Championships 3000m (final), 8:48.48
28 Mar – New Zealand Championships, 5000m, 15:19.61
4 May – Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, Stanford 10000m, 2nd, 30:35.54
31 May – New York Reebok Games 5000m, 2nd, 15:03.83
11 July – Rome Golden Gala 5000m, 4th, 14:45.93
22 July – Stockholm DN Galan 5000m, 4th, 15:02.07
15 Aug – Olympic Games 10000m, 9th, 30:51.00

Lidia Simon (Romania)
THE Romanian has made more of a name for herself at major championships, having won the world title in 2001 but Simon has finished second in London in the past and was eighth in this race in 1995.

Marathon record – 6th, 2nd, DNF and 8th Olympics 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008, 10th, 3rd, 3rd, 1st and 5th World Champs 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2007, 1st Osaka 1998-00, 2nd London 2000

27 Jan – Osaka Ladies’ Marathon, 6th, 2:27:17
6 Apr – Cherry Blossom Washington 10-miles, 3rd, 54:41
26 May – Boulder 10km, 5th, 33:31A
17 Aug – Olympic Games Marathon, 8th, 2:27:17

Alice Timbilil (Kenya)
THE former world youth champion made her debut in April, finishing fifth in Paris but a 68:56 half-marathon lifetime best shows the Kenyan is capable of a faster time.

Marathon record – 5th Paris 2008

8 Feb – Ras Al Khaimah Half-marathon, 4th, 72:29
6 Apr – Paris Marathon, 5th, 2:26:45
28 July – New York Half-marathon, 4th, 71:09
28 Sep – RTP Lisbon Half-marathon, 2nd, 70:13

Hayley Haining (Great Britain)
THE 36-year-old was a very talented junior. The Scot finished ahead of Radcliffe at the 1991 World Junior Cross Country Championships before injuries ruled Haining out for most of the 1990s but the veteran is having something a resurgence in the twilight of her career.

Marathon record – 25th World Championships 2005, 9th Commonwealth Games 2006, 2nd Dublin 2006, 6th Berlin 2007, 12th London 2005 and 2008-10-31

2 Mar – Asics Reading Half-marathon, 2nd, 71:03
13 Apr – Flora London Marathon, 12th, 2:29:18
26 May – BUPA London 10km, 6th, 33:56
27 July – BUPA Cardiff 10km, 4th, 32:24
7 Sep – Glasgow Half-marathon, 3rd, 71:28
5 Oct – BUPA Great North Run, 6th, 70:53

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